The infield at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul, is covered in a tarp as a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game between the Samsung Lions and the KT Wiz experienced a rain delay on June 29, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – It’s that time of year again: monsoon rains wreaking havoc on the South Korean baseball schedule.
Inclement weather wiped out four of the five games scheduled for Saturday in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). They were all rescheduled as part of doubleheaders for Sunday. But two of those doubleheaders couldn’t be played at all because of persistent rainfall. The LG Twins and the NC Dinos only played one of their two scheduled games. The Samsung Lions and the KT Wiz managed to play both of their games in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul.
Not all rainouts are created equal, because they could give struggling teams a much-needed breather or kill whatever momentum surging clubs may have built before Mother Nature’s intervention.
Take, for example, the Kia Tigers. They likely didn’t mind not playing any game over the weekend, after winning only one out of six games prior to that.
On Tuesday, the Tigers blew a 14-1 lead against the Lotte Giants before settling for a 15-15 tie in a marathon of a game that lasted five hours and 20 minutes. Two nights later, the Tigers dropped to the same Giants by 11-2.
And then last-place Kiwoom Heroes handed the Tigers a 17-6 loss Friday night, the most runs the Tigers had allowed this year.
They are somehow still in first place at 45-33-2 (wins-losses-ties), holding a 1.5-game lead over the defending champions LG Twins (45-36-2).
The Samsung Lions (44-36-2) trail the Tigers by two games and could overtake the top spot as the two rivals clash for their final three-game series of the first half.
Kiwoom Heroes players celebrate their 17-6 win over the Kia Tigers in a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on June 28, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The Lions could have done without rain over the weekend. On Saturday, they were leading the KT Wiz 7-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when the game was put on hold due to heavy downpours. The game was eventually called off, and because the teams did not complete five innings, it was ruled a “no game.”
The Lions and the Wiz returned for a doubleheader Sunday, and the Lions tied the first game before losing the second game, falling from second to third place in the standings.
There will be four other three-game sets before the KBO All-Star weekend starts Friday at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul.
The Lotte Giants, who had posted five wins and a tie before rain canceled their weekend action, will visit the Doosan Bears in Seoul. The Giants (35-40-3) are now three games back of the SSG Landers for the fifth, and final, postseason spot.
In another series in the capital city, the Heroes will host the Twins at Gocheok Sky Dome, the only series guaranteed to be played in full with more rain forecast throughout the country this week. The Heroes have won four straight, and they have gone 5-3 against the Twins this season.
Kia Tigers players watch their teammates in action against the Kiwoom Heroes during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on June 28, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The Landers will visit the NC Dinos, who are in sixth place and trailing the Landers by two games, in the southeastern town of Changwon.
The Wiz, who have won four consecutive series, will face the Hanwha Eagles. Despite winning seven of their past 10 games, the Wiz are still in ninth place, though now just 1.5 games back of the Giants for seventh.
Even in the case of rainouts, there will be no doubleheaders in July and August, in consideration of hot temperatures during the dog days of the summer.
Also over the next two months, all Saturday games will begin at 6 p.m., one hour later than usual. Games on Sundays and holidays will start at 5 p.m., instead of the usual 2 p.m.
(Yonhap)
